While there were many ferocious looking mascots that could have made the cut in ESPN's top 5 mascots, the Syracuse Orange mascot managed to make its way onto the list. Some of the other schools that made the cut had actual animals as their mascot, but according to ESPN, Otto is cute, cuddly, and "downright a-peelin'."

The orange was supported by the student body at Syracuse University in the summer of 1990 and was officiallly given the name Otto later that year. There were many other candidates for mascots for the school, including a penguin with an orange scarf, an orangutan, and a troll, but it was the Orange that ended up winning the hearts of the students and staff at Syracuse.